Chapter 570: Ancient Divine Power

Lord Qianyan!

As early as his first hearing of the Thousand-Eye Bodhisattva Temple in Gao Liu County, his impression of this foremost deity on the Great Fortune Divine Rankings had been extremely deep.

Those thousand dharma eyes covering the entire body had nearly given him a bout of trypophobia back then.

From Gao Liu to Zhilong Prefecture, and then to Mount Hengshan, the incense at the Thousand-Eye Bodhisattva Temples had always been extremely prosperous, but in stark contrast to this flourishing worship, these deities did not often manifest in the world.

In recent years, there had been only two instances of action: the first was the joint battle of the nine great dharma lords with the imperial court against Qin Yun, after which silence reigned for several decades; the second was the slaying of Changhong Sword Lord Wei Wei Tianzuo and the seizure of the Chang Hong Yi Qi sword.

Few actions, and not particularly illustrious battle records either.

So much so that when the Xieshen Sect's main altar was trampled flat by the Dao Lords, and after they reached a cooperation with Qin Yun, the threat the Xieshen Sect posed in his heart dropped by more than one level.

Until just now…

"I was careless."

Watching the cloaked figure ascending the steps, Li Yuan's eye twitched slightly.

Whoo—

In that instant, under his intensely focused concentration, Li Yuan seemed to see a temple with flourishing incense, and within the temple sat a majestic divine statue endowed with a thousand eyes.

Before the divine statue, within the temple, hundreds and thousands of devout men and women knelt in worship.

Snap!

The instant Lord Qianyan stepped onto the mountaintop, Li Yuan felt a will so intense it was at its extreme diffuse outward.

In less than an instant, the temple he had sensed moments before seemed to materialize out of nothingness, replacing the original mountaintop on all sides.

The sound of sutra chanting, the sound of kowtowing, incense, the sound of wooden fish…

Li Yuan hadn't even had a moment's daze, yet he had already fallen into that temple, and the scene he had only vaguely sensed before now appeared vividly before him.

As if in an instant heaven and earth had changed, and he had truly walked into a Thousand-Eye Bodhisattva Temple.

"This is…"

Li Yuan's gaze darkened, expression solemn.

A Rudao Sect master, true qi contends with heaven and earth, transforming qi into astral wind, which does not dissipate upon leaving the body and can take form even across a thousand miles; a Heyida Sect master must go a step further.

The three primes merge into one, the spirit touches the present world, and with every gesture and movement, the Zhi Shen Jing cultivated follows along.

"Wondrous sight, the Thousand-Eye Bodhisattva Temple!"

Li Yuan looked around; the temple scene was vivid and lifelike, with hundreds and thousands of worshippers conversing, chanting sutras, and at a certain instant, all kneeling to the ground together.

Boom!

As if thunder exploded in his mind, Li Yuan slowly raised his head; above the temple was not cloudy sky, no great sun could be seen, but a terrifying old face hidden beneath a cloak, covered all over with dharma eyes.

A bone-chilling cold descended instantly, as if to freeze him in place.

Without the slightest hesitation, and without any exchange, the instant he stepped onto the mountaintop, he had already fallen into the other's palm!

"Kneel!"

Countless shouts of rebuke came to his ears; the hundreds and thousands of worshippers in the temple all raised their heads together, glaring furiously, as if they wished they could tear Li Yuan—the only one standing at this moment—into shreds of flesh on the spot.

"Just because your realm is one level higher, it reaches this extent?"

Li Yuan was truly somewhat shaken; this was his first time perceiving so vividly the killing move of a Daoda Sect master, and feeling danger.

Even though he had already entered the Dao, if he were to fight this one head-on, his odds of victory would likely not be great.

'That Dong Dong Ershisan…'

Li Yuan had clearly sensed the spiritual puppet's aura, but why had it still not shown itself after such a while?

"Kneel…"

Boom!

The instant the second rebuke sounded, it was already drowned out by an even more violent explosion; the Long Kun rising behind Li Yuan roared:

"Roar!"

Without any nonsense, after a brief sensing, Li Yuan decisively activated the Weapon Registry and stomped his foot to leap up.

You old Wang Ba, does the Daoist Lord fear you or something!

Boom!

Li Yuan stomped his foot and rose into the air, a heavy hammer circling his body as he moved, Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing true qi rolling forth; even though this wondrous sight had cut him off from contending with heaven and earth,

He still had the augmentation of three great Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing!

His body that had entered the Dao could already initially withstand the full augmentation of these three great Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing!

The majestic true qi accompanied the battle hammer sweeping horizontally; in a single strike, it tore the surrounding furious worshippers into a pulp of flesh, then surged upward, charging straight toward Lord Qianyan.

Although this temple was vivid and lifelike, it had after all not yet reached the point of covering the present world; the invisible barrier was torn apart, and the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing true qi immediately contended with heaven and earth.

As if it would transform into a Long Kun and completely tear apart this Zhi Shen Jing wondrous sight!

Boom!

A great blaze of pale blue erupted, bursting forth from his fingertips.

Lord Qianyan's palm trembled violently, as if an ancient evil dragon were struggling desperately, trying to break free.

"What great strength, but unfortunately your cultivation is not yet formed—how dare you bluster in this seat's palm?"

Lord Qianyan gave a contemptuous laugh, his five fingers suddenly clenching tight, crushing the pale blue light that had burst forth into pieces:

"Overestimating yourself!"

Snap!

This pinch seemed casual and effortless, yet the human-headed strange bird floating in the air saw its eyelid twitch—this old fellow covered in ghostly eyes was truly vicious.

With his cultivation a full major realm higher, to deal with a junior he had actually directly deployed his spirit-image Zhi Shen Jing; even a small mountain could be crushed to powder by this move!

"How ferocious!"

Outside, the human-headed strange bird was startled; Li Yuan, bearing the brunt of it, felt it a hundred times more intensely, as if the heavens themselves were collapsing down upon him.

The weight of this Thousand-Eye Bodhisattva temple—or rather, of this strange spectacle—suddenly bore down on him.

It could no longer be described as a crushing burden; in his perception, it was like a mountain!

'No wonder Old Longtou said there's no need to fixate on a body of a thousand forms. Compared to the power of heaven and earth, the human body truly is insignificant… Without the augmentation of the three great Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, this one blow would have grievously wounded me.'

Li Yuan was startled but not flustered. As those five fingers closed together, he swung his hammer's edge and smashed it toward the Thousand-Eye Spirit Aspect that had risen from the temple.

This collision seemed to achieve nothing, yet the urgency in his heart largely faded. Though he had only just entered the Dao, with the augmentation of the ten divine weapons recorded in the Soldier-Roster, he already possessed the strength to fight it on equal terms:

"This old ghost really doesn't seem all that fearsome…"

……

"A Door-Guard Puppet?"

The Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord looked at the human-headed strange bird. A thousand dharma eyes flickered, causing even the human-headed strange bird to involuntarily shudder, flap its wings, and shrink away in disgust:

"Freak with eyeballs, get lost!"

Ey-eyeball freak?!

The Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord, who had been sizing up the human-headed strange bird, was first stunned, then flew into a great rage:

"You vile beast, how dare you insult—hm?!"

Before that rebuke could finish falling, the Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord's cloak stirred without wind. He slowly turned around, only to see someone on the mountain path climbing the steps unhurriedly, yet appearing perfectly at ease.

Wherever that person passed, the raging wind and rolling clouds shrouding the mountain gradually dispersed.

"Dong Dong Ershisan!"

The human-headed strange bird let out a great cry, shot across the void like thunder, circled around that person, fawning and flattering with every word—exactly like a little puppy seeing its master.

"Hm?"

The Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord narrowed his eyes slightly. A thousand gazes converged before he could finally make out the appearance of the Dengshan climber.

It was a tall-crowned, broad-belted elder with a strangely ancient face. His eyes were like ink, with a light in them like fire. At first glance there was no edge to him, but the moment he probed slightly, his heart gave a jolt.

It was not only him.

At the foot of the mountain, Long Long Yingchan and the others, startled by this Wind-God Prayer Text, were all drawn to the elder as well.

The instant this elder appeared, the eight-direction cave-heavens fell silent. The howling gale, the surging clouds, the stone steles crashing into one another—all ceased their clamor.

"You are—Gu Gu Shentong?"

Pair after pair of dharma eyes closed. The cloak draped over the Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord fell away, revealing a deathly pale old face. The thousand dharma eyes, once closed, looked like seams of flesh, sending shivers down the spine:

"You actually became a Door-Guard Puppet in this Eight-Direction Temple?!"

The clouds on Eight-Direction Mountain had long since dispersed. Long Long Yingchan and the others could see clearly that the Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord seemed utterly astonished, his gaze fixed dead on the elder climbing the steps.

"Gu Gu Shentong?"

Fang Fang Sanyun and the others looked at Chi He Lian and the Negative Hall Spirit Turtle. The latter two wore blank expressions, clearly having never heard that name.

"Gu Gu Shentong?"

The human-headed strange bird also looked at the elder.

The elder's feet did not pause. Only when he reached the mountaintop did he speak, his voice wooden:

"My name is 'Dong Dong Ershisan,' Door-Guard Puppet of the Eastern Realm of the Eight-Direction Temple. I am charged with guiding challengers into the temple through the Eastern Realm… Challenger, is it you who wishes to challenge the Temple-Opener?"

"You've actually fallen to such a state?"

The Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord's eyes grew ever more astonished. Hearing his words, he gave a cold laugh:

"What manner of thing is he, that he should be worthy of this seat's challenge? A flip of the hand could suppress and slay him!"

"You?"

Dong Dong Ershisan merely glanced at him and shook his head:

"A wisp of a remnant god—what talk is there of slaying men?"

"Remnant god? Heh… hm?"

The Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord gave a half-smirk, but his eyelid twitched.

That tightly clenched hand of his suddenly trembled, and then was pried open inch by inch by a tremendous force!

He looked over grimly and saw that, beneath the burning pale-blue divine light in his palm, the temple had nearly become a ruin. A divine statue bearing a thousand eyes had been sent staggering backward by a single heavy hammer!

"Seeking death!"

The Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord flew into a towering rage. A flash of stunned, cold intent passed through the depths of his one open eye, and then those thousand tightly shut dharma eyes were about to open once more.

He had paid an enormous price to come here, and it was not to challenge some wretched Temple-Opener.

What he wanted was to seize it outright!

Boom!

The Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord suddenly exerted his full strength, and Eight-Direction Mountain rumbled from top to bottom. He had expected Dong Dong Ershisan to intervene, but to his surprise the latter merely watched coldly.

Yet contrary to his expectation, that crushing grip of his was actually forced open!

"Hm?!"

The Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord raised a brow. In this short span, the number of times he had been astonished was about to exceed the total for the past thousand years.

This native boy, who had only just entered the Dao, had in that instant erupted with a power that even gave him pause.

'This boy is not right…'

Boom!

The pale-blue color split the blood-light like an arrow.

Li Yuan vaulted like a dragon soaring. His heavy hammer shattered the invisible barrier and, its momentum unabated, smashed toward the wrathful-eyed Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord.

"Roar!"

A dragon-kun soars from the abyss, its voice shaking Master Master Baili.

At this moment, Li Yuan's qi, blood, and spirit had climbed to their peak. The fierce struggle with the Thousand-Eye Spirit Aspect had let him fully master the power of having entered the Dao.

Though this Long Kun had not yet transformed into a spirit image, it already possessed its spirit.

"Crack!"

But the moment he swung that hammer, it was blocked — the one who struck was Dong Dong Ershisan, who had just reached the mountaintop.

Hum~

The next instant, heaven and earth whirled violently.

The instant Li Yuan leapt out of that Thousand-Eye Bodhisattva Temple, he felt light and shadow flickering all around. He frowned and looked about — this was suddenly a dueling arena strikingly similar to the Profound Whale Sect's true-lineage trial!

Seated in the high places all around were Fang Fang Sanyun and the others, their expressions dazed.

Far across from him was the Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord, his face green.